Politico: “It’s time to legalize polygamy”
“While important legal and practical questions remain unresolved, with the Supreme Court’s ruling and broad public support, marriage equality is here to stay. Soon, it will be time to turn the attention of social liberalism to the next horizon. Given that many of us have argued, to great effect, that deference to tradition is not a legitimate reason to restrict marriage rights to groups that want them, the next step seems clear. We should turn our efforts towards the legal recognition of marriages between more than two partners. It’s time to legalize polygamy.”
Our Unhealthy Preoccupation with Acceptance
The evangelical church in the last generation has been marked by its preoccupation with being relevant. An entire movement has been built around making Jesus and church seem relevant to outsiders. We have seen fad after fad come with intensity and go with a whisper only to become illustrations of silliness and obsolescence. The church-growth movement of yesterday and now the attractional church exists to overcome people’s perceptions that we are irrelevant.
Remember The Pit
“Remember the hole of the pit from which you were dug” said Isaiah the prophet. It’s a spiritual exercise that the Psalmist models for us in Psalm 40:1-3. Although the exact nature of the pit is not specified – it could be the pit of affliction, of persecution, of mental distress, or of family trouble – it’s most likely it was the pit of sin and guilt. When I look back at that pit I remember it was:
Explainer: #WhoIsBurningBlackChurches
ATF has special agents and certified fire investigators (CFIs) from several field divisions investigating the fires to determine cause and origin. We are in the early stages of these investigations, but at this time we have no reason to believe these fires are racially motivated or related.
Americans Are Independent But Are They Still Free?
Americans who still believe that civil liberty is, by definition, the relative absence of governmental restraint upon the freedom of speech, the relative absence of restraint upon religious practice, the absence of prior restraint upon the press and other basic liberties (e.g., life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness relative to civil life) need to assert their conviction or those who have a utopian eschatology, a vision of the future that cannot tolerate dissent, that does not include religious liberty or any other civil liberties will continue to grow.
5 Biblical Responses to Homosexuality
It is not the church that is telling people today that a life without sexual fulfillment is not worth living. That is the message of our culture, not of our savior. Jesus himself came with a message to liberate us from such thinking. We have good news to share on this – very good news. Human fullness is not dependent on sexual fulfillment. There is an appetite within all of us that goes far deeper than our sexual desires, and it can be fully met in Christ Himself. Fullness of life is found in Him and nowhere else.
You’re Not a Leader if You Never Say You’re Sorry
If you never need to look at someone on your team and say, “I am sorry, but…” then you are ignoring difficult conversations that would make the person and the team stronger. If you talk about people instead of to people, you are not a good leader. If you work around deficiencies instead of confronting them and providing opportunities for growth, you are shirking your responsibility.
Pastor Exposed as Faithful to Wife of 17 Years
We each can name far more pastors who are faithful in their marriages than those who are not. And I suspect we would also say that it’s those faithful marriages, those ordinary, daily testimonies of richer or poorer, sickness and health, for better or worse that most influence us. One marriage fails that we might not presume, but many—many!—marriages are, by God’s grace, faithful that we might not despair.
A Homosexual Christian?
I sometimes wonder why I have to keep repeating basic and vital Christian truths over and over again. I guess there would be various possible reasons for this:
-Many Christians don’t read their Bibles
-Many Christians don’t really value truth
-Many Christians simply soak up the surrounding culture’s values and thinking
-Many Christians have short memories
-Many Christians have no interest in the biblical worldview
-Many Christians don’t bother to think
-Many Christians are in fact not Christians at all
All that would be the subject of another article. In fact, I already have written often about the sad state of contemporary Christianity in the West. One could be tempted to not keep repeating oneself. After all, I have books and hundreds of articles where I already make my case over and over again.
Silhouette of a man in a business suit giving a shrug with a question mark
So I could just forget about it all. But truth is vitally important, and it needs to get a wide hearing. The fact the so many Christians are ignorant of their own faith and their own teachings is woeful indeed, but if it takes more repetition to get truth out there, then that is what we must do.
Here I want to once again address an issue which still has so many believers quite confused. I would have thought all this was pretty basic and easy to understand from a biblical point of view, yet it seems to be too much for so many believers. So let me rehash it once again.
The issue is this: can you be a homosexual and a Christian simultaneously? While it may seem a straightforward question, a few details and definitions are needed to explain this properly. My short answer is this: it is one thing to struggle with any sin, and be a believer. It is another thing to cling to and defend any sin, and claim to be a believer.
How can anyone sleep through this?
We are continuing to speak truth here, even though there are cases of Christians being silenced in the wake of the SCOTUS ruling legalizing same sex marriage. It’s not just that those standing on God’s Word will be called a “hater,” but the Word itself is now a form of hate speech to those who […]
Contemporary Christian Music Pioneer Don Francisco departs from biblical inerrancy
Two-time Dove Award winner Don 30 Francisco is a singer/songwriter best for songs like He’s Alive, Adam, Adam Where are You” and I’ll Never Let Go of Your Hand. Surprisingly, Francisco is now scolding Christians who believe that the Bible is without error. In fact if you believe in the infallibility of Scripture, you are […]
Which “Spirit” Will We Listen to?
The collapse of a nation, an economy—or even a religion can happen in a couple different ways. Sometimes there is a single catastrophic event that destroys the foundation of institutions—but often it is years of smaller attacks at the foundation of institutions that eventually cause a collapse from within—or collapse from a relatively small event—sort […]
Syria’s Last Legs
Jeremiah 49:23-27 could be coming into play. Jeremiah foresaw a time when the people in three Syrian cities (Damascus, Hamath and Arpad) will become confused, fainthearted and gripped with constant sorrow. The people of Damascus will become weak, turn to flee, be seized by fear, and be taken by anguish and sorrow as of a woman in travail. Her young men will fall in the streets, her troops will be cut off and fire will consume the city.
This could very well be a prelude to Isaiah chapter 17.
ISIS and the IDF
News has broken that Israel is sending troops to its southern border, to meet the threat of the demonic terror group, ISIS.
Flush with one blood-drenched takeover after another in Iraq, ISIS is boasting that it will take the fight right to the gates of Jerusalem.
They’ve never encountered the IDF.
Glenn Beck: Born Again Mormon Christian?
Can you be a saved Mormon? We don’t think so. — OTM
The Christian Post reported Wednesday that Beck, who describes himself as “a born again LDS Christian,” will be the special guest this Independence Day weekend at Young’s Fellowship Church.
Five Ways That Every One Of Us Should Be Preparing for Marriage
As I’ve said recently (here and here), the American church often has difficulty incorporating single adults into the life of the church. So much of the church’s language toward single people implies that the only task they have is to prepare for marriage. And that’s true, but not in the sense that most people think.
Single Christians are preparing for marriage—but marriage to God, not to another person. Seen from this perspective, in fact, we’re all preparing for marriage. Some of us won’t experience marriage on this earth. But that doesn’t mean singles miss marriage completely. No, they will simply skip the shadow of earthly marriage and go straight to the substance of the heavenly marriage with Jesus Christ.
The ironic thing about preparing for marriage to Christ is that if and when you do find your spouse, you’ll be ready for them. Far too often we obsess about finding the right person, when Scripture counsels us to become the right person. As Andy Stanley says it, “Are you the person that the person you’re looking for…is looking for?”
Practically speaking, what does this kind of “ultimate marriage preparation” look like?
Artist Don Francisco berates Christians for believing the Bible is true
How does one believe in the Gospel without believing that Scripture is 100 percent truth? That it is our sufficient authority, and God’s own inerrant, infallible, breathed-out Word? How do you easily convince thousands of fans that those Christians who believe such things are somehow idol worshipers? Talk about a heart-breaker. An extremely influential […]
Homosexual Advocates Call for Churches to Lose Tax-Exempt Status Following “Gay Marriage” Ruling
(Christian News Network) At least two outspoken homosexual advocates are calling for churches nationwide to lose their tax-exempt status following last month’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling declaring that all 50 states must legalize same-sex “marriage.” “[N]ow that the U.S. government formally recognizes marriage equality as a fundamental right, it really shouldn’t skew the tax code […]
Are you a member of the HFIB club?
Many Bible believing Christians are members of the HFIB club. The acronym stands for hate, fear, ignorance and bigotry. To be inducted into HFIB all one has to do is oppose homosexual “marriage” or—gasp!—proclaim that homosexuality is a sin against a holy God.
For example, talk show host Montel Williams labeled social conservatives hateful bigots for disagreeing with the High Court’s broad interpretation of the U.S. Constitution regarding same-sex “marriage.” Montel has chosen sides, it seems – he’s taken the side of the totalitarian and intolerant left.
In a piece by ChristianExaminer columnist Michael Foust entitled Talk show host Montel Williams compares gay marriage opponents to ISIS, Taliban,Foust writes:
Williams made the comments Friday, hours after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. On Facebook he criticized those on the “uber-right,” which apparently is a synonym for most if not all social conservatives. In the same context he referenced Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. Williams said that “hate, ignorance, fear and bigotry” had lost when the Supreme Court handed down its decision.
“In its typical fashion, the uber-right that so many of us on the center right find to be akin to the American version of #ISIS or the Taliban, frezilly predicted the end of the world, including several members of Congress, who with all the style and hyperbole of an ISIS recruiting video, yes, let’s start with Louie Gohmert, proved they lacked the mental fortitude and emotional stability to hold elected office.
“Some members of this, the American Taliban known as the far-right, even threatened to move to Canada without realizing GAY MARRIAGE HAS BEEN LEGAL THERE FOR IONS. Frankly, I’d be happy to see them go, I just think it would be akin to an act of war to dump the uber-right on another country, sort of like dumping radioactive waste on a neighbor’s yard.”
Some of his fans were miffed by his remarks. One fan wrote: “Montel — the Taliban would whack the heads off of you and all gays. You have disgraced yourself in saying that any American who disagrees with YOUR opinion is the Taliban or ISIS.”
Good point. There are pictures circulating on the Internet of ISIS thugs in Raqqa throwing a man accused of being gay off a building while a crowd of people watched the atrocity. Many of them climbed buildings to get a better look.
Fouts also fills us in on Montel’s tantrum on Twitter:
The Warp-Speed Walk to Holiness
In airports you find those long moving walkway conveyor belts that look like a flat escalator propelling you forward. Some passengers step onto the belt and remain static, allowing the rubber to deliver them to their destination. Others prefer to keep up a steady gait while on the belt, causing a unique sensation of warp-speed walking. Still others eschew the mechanism altogether and, like Amish conscientious objectors, choose to plod on resolutely next to the belt.
We all end up where we’re going but let’s face it: those who are serious about arriving sooner rather than later tend to be the businessmen who jog on the belt outpacing their fellow travellers by leaps and bounds.
Sanctification is not passive. We can’t sit sprawled on an assembly line as the Spirit fits us with the next Christian virtue. Yes, God is overseeing every tweak and turn of the process, but the more we cooperate the quicker (and less painful) the progress.
It may seem like a paradox to minds that prefer dichotomies, but Scripture has no compunction about presenting both our responsibility to pursue holiness and God’s role in accomplishing the work in us.
Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Any system of sanctification that emphasizes grace over discipline runs the risk of licentiousness (Rom 6:1). Likewise a framework where man’s effort is the secret of success leads to legalism, moralism, and spiritual pride.
We need to keep up the pace of our walk with the Lord, and simultaneously enjoy the boost we get from the Spirit’s power propelling us toward Christlikeness in a type of warp-speed walk to holiness.
Fiddling While Greece Burns
Greece’s default is not complex, but is the simple fruit of reckless spending. Our turn is coming.
It seems we have a lot of trouble with reality in our day.
Christians Do Fall
They fall in a variety of ways—
They fail in their endeavors to serve the Lord., They fall in the ways they represent Him before the world They fall in their relationships with one another. They fall in raising their kids. Face it—Christians fall; there is no denying it. Some pretend—putting on a “good front.” But every discerning believer knows that it is a front and not what is behind it! If you are genuine, you will admit that you fall in many ways, again and again (seven times is not a limiting number here).
Well, what shall we say about it? Is there any hope for us? Can we do better? Yes. First by taking hope. Listen to this:
Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up . . . (Proverbs 24:16).
The words “righteous man” are the OT equivalent for the NT testament “saint.” As you can see from the juxtaposition of “fall” and “righteous” the latter word doesn’t mean without fault!.
There is great assurance in this verse—God doesn’t let His children wallow at the feet of the world, utterly defeated. In repentance, believers find the Lord takes them by His hand and lifts them up! Take these reassuring words to heart, believer: they are for you when next time you stumble and fall!
The Daily Discovery (July 6, 2015)
Evangelist Who Said His Movie Would Change Minds About Whether People Are Born Gay Accuses YouTube of Censorship – “A trailer advertising a scripted movie about homosexuality has been removed by YouTube, with the company claiming that the content violated the platform’s ‘policy against spam, scams, and commercially deceptive content’ — a claim that the filmmaker behind the project is rejecting.”
Christ’s Seven Prayers For His People – “Wouldn’t you love to hear Christ prayers for you? You can. In John 17 we can eavesdrop on Christ’s prayers for His people. Lean in and you’ll hear five prayers He’s praying for every Christian every day, and then two that He prays on our last day on earth.”
10 Distinguishing Marks of John Calvin’s Preaching – “Steven Lawson contributed a chapter in John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology on John Calvin ‘The Preacher of God’s Word.’ Here is a summary of that chapter, outlining what Steven Lawson suggests are the ten distinguishing marks of Calvin’s preaching.”
The Original Bohemian – “Six hundred years ago today, Jan Hus was burned at the stake. A popular preacher who opposed corruption and indulgences, much like John Wyclif before him and Martin Luther after him, Hus had been lured to the Council of Constance with the promise of safe passage, but he continued to preach and serve the Mass. Eventually the authorities lost patience with him, and in breach of their arrangement, Hus was imprisoned, chained, and finally led to the stake as a heretic on 6 July 1415.”
Controversy or Complacency – “The church has always had some of those people associated with it. There have always been people who maintain an offensive disposition when it comes to their faith. These are the people who seem to love nothing more than a good fight. They bait every conversation with a few key words, hoping that you will blunder into a discussion they know they can win. They play one Christian off another. They might elevate themselves into positions of Christian leadership for the purpose of enriching themselves at everyone else’s expense.”
SERMON:
Jeff Durbin – Gay “Marriage” & Supreme Court
VIDEOS:
Reflections on the Tragedy in Charleston
How the Church Should Respond to the LGBT Community
“If you alter or obscure the Biblical portrait of God in order to attract converts, you don’t get converts to God, you get converts to an illusion. This is not evangelism but deception.” – John Piper
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With that brief question Jesus Christ confronted His followers with the most important issue they would ever face. He had spent much time with them and made some bold claims about His identity and authority. Now the time had come for them either to believe or deny His teachings.
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